Postal Service cutting Saturday mail delivery (weather, raising, employees, cost)
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Sorry, but you're wrong. The issue is mail, not packages; neither Fedex nor UPS deliver first-class mail. Do you actually believe that that if people were allowed to give UPS or Fedex a letter and then they had to deliver it cross-country for 46 cents (or whatever a stamp costs these days) that they could make a profit doing so? If so, you're delusional.
Except USPS can't do it "for 46 cents (or whatever a stamp costs these days)" either. It's a false argument to start with.
If you believe the private sector couldn't compete for mail service given a level playing field (instead of a competitor who's not profitable with declining future mail service), how did they take such a huge bite out of USPS package service, while turning a profit?
Wow...You must be the board "thought policeman"....You would have thrived in Eric Honnicker's (sic) East Germany....
Although you were responding not to me, but to MadManofBethesda, I couldn't let that pass. Because you were criticized, that does not make your critic a board "thought policeman". You are using shaky logic, or actually, no logic at all.
I have been reading MadMan's posts for nearly three years now, and I can state with certainly that he would not thrive in an envirornment anything like Erich Honecker's (please note correct spelling) East Germany. MadMan is independent-minded, analytical, and truthful. He also doesn't hesitate to correct and criticize whenever he sees BS. Someone like him would have been jailed very quickly by any police-state government.
Last edited by Escort Rider; 02-07-2013 at 08:37 AM..
Right - in other words, let's shut down the economy. No more buying anything on-line, get your gas guzzling cars out and go to WalMart and forget about buying anything Walmart doesn't carry. I don't think we can get by without postal delivery. It's a crazy idea IMO.
What on earth? FedEx, UPS and others have package delivery down pretty good, buying things online has little to do with it.
The remaining issue is mail service (not packages) and mail will continue to decline. And I don't know about you but more and more people have been paying bills online for many years. At least 80% of what we get from USPS is unwelcome junk mail (even though we actively try to get off mailing lists) that I'd love to see stopped. You noticed last year when USPS was trying to encourage more junk mail to keep revenue coming in - now that's "a crazy idea IMO." Sadly transparent and counterproductive in several ways. I sure don't want to see any of our tax dollars spent to encourage more junk mail...
AND "Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters."
They should match delivery to the (declining) mail volume & revenue like any business would - whether that's 5 days or week or less.
I don't see where the PO has been under attack by any right wing, and don't see anyone trying to kill it. Not sure where folks dig up this stuff.
Simply put, the PO is losing money, and needs to begin operating more like a real business. Elimination of Saturday mail is a strategic cost saviing initiative, which should have no negative impact on 99.9% of the US population.
The post office has not used any tax payer money since the 80's. It is completely funded off of postage revinue.
Second, Congress MANDATED that the USPS must fund its pension plan for the next 75 years, to be completed within a 10 year window. No other company/governmental entity is required to meet this standard.
Third, Congress so severely restricts what the USPS can and cannot deliver in terms of goods and services that it cannot compete on an even playing field.
If you want to see whether or not the USPS is or can be a viable solution, then quit hamstringing it and let it compete with all the other delivery services out there.
And no, I don't work for and have never worked for the USPS.
Except USPS can't do it "for 46 cents (or whatever a stamp costs these days)" either. It's a false argument to start with.
Of course it is! But I'm not the one who made it!
High Plains Drifter stated that the private sector couldn't make a profit on mail delivery and azriverfan responded by stating that they already do. That's the point I was refuting.
High Plains Drifter stated that the private sector couldn't make a profit on mail delivery and azriverfan responded by stating that they already do. That's the point I was refuting.
Fair enough. I didn't see the full post by azriverfan (that clearly mixed up mail & packages, like many members on this thread are), I only saw your post and quoted snipped posts. Peace...
The post office has not used any tax payer money since the 80's. It is completely funded off of postage revinue.
Essentially true aside from a trivial subsidy"Although the USPS does receive an annual appropriation, the agency does not rely on appropriations. Its appropriation is about $100 million per year, about 0.1% of the USPS’s $75 billion operating budget. Congress provides this appropriation to compensate the USPS for the revenue it forgoes in providing, at congressional direction, free mailing privileges to blind persons and overseas voters."
Second, Congress MANDATED that the USPS must fund its pension plan for the next 75 years, to be completed within a 10 year window. No other company/governmental entity is required to meet this standard.
Except they're losing money now even without the PAEA payments, so the "accelerated" payments are a red herring at this point. "Initially, the effects of the PAEA’s mandatory payments to the Postal Service Health Benefits Fund on the USPS’s profitability were considerable. This may be illustrated with a hypothetical—if the USPS did not have to pay into this fund each year, it would have experienced no operating losses until FY2009. However, despite Congress’s reduction of the RHBF payment owed in FY2009 and its delay of the RHBF payment owed in FY2011, the USPS’s expenses exceeded its revenues these years."
Third, Congress so severely restricts what the USPS can and cannot deliver in terms of goods and services that it cannot compete on an even playing field.
OTOH "Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters."
If you want to see whether or not the USPS is or can be a viable solution, then quit hamstringing it and let it compete with all the other delivery services out there.
I agree, let them compete on a level playing field, don't hamstring USPS or the private sector. Let service & costs go where they may with USPS pensions remaining on their income statement "since the USPS has been a self-supporting government agency that covers its operating costs with revenues generated through the sales of postage and related products and services."
USPS is between a rock & a hard place with declining mail volume/revenues, it's going to take a serious effort and probably big changes in service for USPS to reach zero losses. The internet and now mobile devices will continue to make the USPS increasingly less relevant.
And no, I don't work for and have never worked for the USPS. Me either.
According to my postman. Here on LI rather than hire a full time employee to handle the mail they have several part timers to whom they owe no benefits. This has all but stopped any overtime for the PO. In addition this is far from a done deal as it has to be voted on by Congress. There is such a broad interpretation of the law but it does seem to make sense to me. When I was a kid we had 2 per day delivery of mail. Amazing!!!
I don't see where the PO has been under attack by any right wing, and don't see anyone trying to kill it. Not sure where folks dig up this stuff.
Simply put, the PO is losing money, and needs to begin operating more like a real business. Elimination of Saturday mail is a strategic cost saviing initiative, which should have no negative impact on 99.9% of the US population.
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